Page 78 of Forgotten Promise

They were back in the little conference room, everyone except John, Makani, Tate, and Levi, who were dealing with the robbery. Lachlan had deposited the presumed bad guy somewhere and was back, standing beside Selene at the head of the table.

Kailani and Preston were seated together on Selene’s left, while Rose sat on her right.

“My first decree—” Selene started.

“Decree?” Oscar interrupted.

“Interruptions will earn you twenty lashings,” she said.

“Baby, they think you’re joking,” Oscar said slowly.

“I am, about the lashings. Not about my decrees. I think that sounds better than orders. Proclamations?” Selene seemed to relish the word, but then her expression turned serious, her gaze, sharp and intelligent, sweeping the room.

“First, Lachlan, you are now my warlord.”

Lachlan blinked. “Warlord?”

“We’re under attack. You’re the warlord.”

“General,” Oscar said under his breath. “Could have said general.”

“Your first priority is to find and rescue the Grand Master.”

Lachlan nodded.

“Next, I want a private meeting with all the counselors.” Selene looked to Rose, who was holding out a phone.

A voice came from the phone, but Benjamin couldn’t hear exactly what was said. Selene’s response made him raise his eyebrows though. “If you want, we can meet in person. Bring the hostage if he’s cooperative, otherwise put him in…Guantanamo Bay or something like that until you get back to Boston.”

Rose smiled.

What hostage? Had they caught whoever took the Grand Master? Benjamin hated not knowing what was going on. Information was, after all, a form of control. He shifted restlessly, checking the urge to demand answers.

“Third,” Selene went on, “from here on out, my warlord has the right to draft any member of the society into his strike team.” Selene looked at Lachlan. “If you need anyone in this room, take them with you when you go back to Boston.”

“Yes, Grand Master.” Lachlan’s expression was calm, almost blank as he accepted his orders.

“Sebastian, you’re now in charge of an all-society roll call.” Selene was speaking to the phone in Rose’s hand.

Sebastian? Hmm, probably Sebastian Stewart. It felt odd and a little unsettling to know the names of all the counselors. As a legacy, Benjamin was used to feeling like he knew more than most members, but this…this was next-level shit.

“I want to know who else is missing,” Selene was saying.

Had other people been taken? Benjamin reached for his phone, needing to text his family, to make sure they were all right.

“Your priority is to find the Grand Master, but we need to find our other people too,” she said to Lachlan.

“With your permission, Grand Master, I’ll continue to expand on our current search and investigation efforts.”

“Absolutely, Warlord.”

This time Lachlan didn’t blink at the title.

Selene turned to her right. “Preston, Kailani, catalog the interior of the waihona. It’s supposed to have what we need to protect the society, so I need to know what’s in it.”

“Yes, Grand Master,” Kailani murmured.

Benjamin looked at her. Kailani. His Kailani. They must have opened the door, that’s how they knew which key worked, but maybe they hadn’t wasted time looking around inside, or maybe everything was boxed or sealed up. Benjamin wanted to ask Kailani. Wanted her to look at him.

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